St. Peter Area Food Shelf distributes free fresh produce

ST. PETER, Minn. (KEYC) -Each month through October the St. Peter Area Food Shelf sets up at the First Lutheran Church to distribute fresh veggies to anyone in need.

The vegetables come from Second Harvest Heartland, which partners with the food shelf to distribute produce to the community.

The food shelf said that more than 140 families came through Wednesday, collecting food for more than 600 people.

Organizers of the drive said that events like these are crucial in targeting food insecurity and making healthy options affordable.

“When it comes to healthy foods like produce and vegetables they are not cheap, and they’re not that easy to come by most of the time and we have a lot of wonderful donations from the community that come through and its never quite enough to feed everyone,” said food shelf coordinator Jodi Marie Donley.

The drive happens on the second Wednesday of every month, and there are no requirements for picking up food from the drive.

People can pick up food for themselves or their neighbors with no personal information or signup required.

Organizers gave credit to their team of volunteers for making everything run smoothly, whether its packaging food or loading packages into vehicles.

“The volunteer force that we have every year for this drive is the community itself. The heart of the community, everyone comes every year, donates their time, their energy to help. They make sure that the people in this town get to eat good healthy food tonight,” Donley said.

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